Coming soon: Government-focused cloud services

It has been a busy few weeks for Microsoft in the cloud space.Last Monday, we announced that Windows Azure has received a FedRAMP JAB P-ATO. This week, I am able to sharethat Microsoft is announcing its plans to offer a public cloud environmentdesigned to meet the distinct needs of U.S. government agencies.

The Windows Azure U.S. Government Cloud will be a community cloudavailable for U.S. state, local, and federal government agencies hosted inMicrosoft datacenters located in the U.S. and managed by U.S. personnel.

The U.S. government is eager to realize the benefits of the cloud,adopting a Cloud First policy for new investments. Microsoft is committed tosupporting these initiatives and is uniquely positioned to offer theflexibility U.S. government agencies need. This includes the ability to designand deploy a combination of on-premises, private, public or hybrid cloudenvironments based on their security requirements. The Windows Azure U.S. Government Cloud will add the ability toleverage the cloud for higher security workloads, like those of the Departmentof Defense, ensuring that Microsoft can meet the diverse needs of the U.S.government.

Working with partners like LockheedMartin, who help us meet the government-mandated requirements, key elements ofthe Windows Azure U.S. Government Cloud will include:

This news comes as part of a larger announcement by Microsoft about newproducts, programs and partnerships to help organizations capitalize on the opportunitiesof cloud computing. Complementing Office365 and other cloud services, these new offerings deliver on Microsoft’shybrid cloud strategy that connects IT and data infrastructure, applicationplatform and development, and device management and business solutions. Learn more from Satya Nadella, Cloud & Enterprise ExecutiveVice President.